Anthony Cox

Anthony Cox (1965-) was a Newcastle upon Tyne policeman during the 1980s and 1990s. He was the son of businessman Tosker Cox and future Labour Party MP Mary Soulsby.

Biography
Anthony Cox was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England in 1965, the son of the musician Terry "Tosker" Cox and his wife Mary Soulsby, who married shortly after Mary discovered that she was pregnant. Anthony grew up a troubled child due to his poor relationship with his father, and he was arrested by the police for drunkenly waving a gun around an apartment owned by a drug ring; he later got into trouble by vandalizing the retired policeman Roy Johnson's home. His mother later had him apologize to Johnson, who befriended the youth and listened to his problems. Cox soon decided to join the police force as well, taking part in the suppression of the Miners' strike of 1984-85. Cox witnessed the brutality of the Metropolitan Police Service officers sent in from London to help the Newcastle police disperse the rioters, and his mother, by then the city solicitor, persuaded him to testify about police brutality at the trial of Toby and Barry Roddy. Ultimately, the government handed the two reduced sentences rather than face a scandal. Anthony's actions destroyed his chances of advancement, and, in 1995, he abandoned his wife and children and became estranged from his mother, claiming that she had been a martyr all her life.